Hello All,
I bought the 64 bit CD Rom of Linux Mint "Tessa" and decided to install it on my older laptop (Dell Latitude E6400). It already had 32 bit "Sonya" installed but I thought that the 64 bit version would up the performance. It did not workout and I tried for a while to try and get the Wifi working. Nothing. It was all ok until I installed "Tessa" but then could not connect to my wifi network. I figured that it was best to re-install "Sonya" and it all went well except for no WiFi. I have tried a few suggestions from the forum but have had no luck so far. I have another computer but the Latitude has been a great workhorse for me. I don't know what to do. If anyone has any ideas I would be grateful. I have the "Sonya" CD-ROM and can hardwire the Latitude to the router with a cable.. Any help greatly appreciated. I have been using Linux Mint without any problems so far until this small setback. Thanks for any help. ATB Tryg

Last edited by TriggerX on Tue Aug 20, 2019 2:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Hi, There is a physical switch and also a button next to it. I tried it in both positions but no luck. I tried the Fn+F command and still nothing. When I tried to Bluetooth the file over to this computer and clicked on the network connections icon it just opened the Network window but would not respond to turning on mobile broadband - it just kept bouncing back to 'off'. The results to the inxi - Fxzd query at the terminal revealed the following...

I tried to install the drivers and other stuff from various sources. I even tried reinstalling Mint and starting over. No results. My head is fried at this point. Right now it has eaten up most of my morning. I need to take a break and go at it again later with a fresh mind.

Hi JeremyB, I have done that the previous two installs and just finished it for a third time now. I am sending you a screenshot of what appears when I click on the network icon at the bottom of the screen. I am connected to the internet via cable to the router so it should have done it properly but still no joy. I am sorry if this is bothersome - I just really like this computer. I want to just get it to where it was. There is an expression amongst radio amateurs; 'lid', that is what I feel like I am now.

OK chaps, I am now at a crossroads here. I don't know what to do. For example; how do I uninstall bcmwl-kernel-source? Sorry to be as thick as a whale sandwich but I don't understand JeremyB's post. "What does". I have tried the reinstall again a couple of times now and again I am going to leave it until the morning. I have had more screentime today than I have in years.

OK chaps, I am now at a crossroads here. I don't know what to do. For example; how do I uninstall bcmwl-kernel-source? Sorry to be as thick as a whale sandwich but I don't understand JeremyB's post. "What does". I have tried the reinstall again a couple of times now and again I am going to leave it until the morning. I have had more screentime today than I have in years.

OK chaps, I am now at a crossroads here. I don't know what to do. For example; how do I uninstall bcmwl-kernel-source? Sorry to be as thick as a whale sandwich but I don't understand JeremyB's post. "What does". I have tried the reinstall again a couple of times now and again I am going to leave it until the morning. I have had more screentime today than I have in years. :roll: :oops:

Thanks Chaps, I will give it a go later on - probably tomorrow. I have a usb dongle for wifi so that may be it but it is surprising that it was ok before. Today I am going to take it easy. It was a time muncher over the past couple of days. I will keep you posted on my progress/efforts, which will hopefully yield positive results.

Doesn't your router have Wi-Fi capability? You should be able to enable Wi-Fi on that, it seems more logical for your router to handle that task, anyway.

However, since you mentioned an inboard Wi-Fi, you might want to check for a battery on that card: it might be holding on to a setting that re-installs and power-downs will never reset. In the same vein, your bios battery might be doing the same thing: I once experienced the same problem with a sound card. A little deductive reasoning, i.e. "what would be able to keep my sound off despite re-installs and power-downs?" Answer: a battery holding a setting in memory. I took out the bios battery, waited a few seconds, put it back in, started the machine et voilà! the sound returned!

Thanks for the continued support. I have done everything that I was advised to and so far, no luck. Thanks WHVW for your suggestions. The wifi on the router is fully enabled. I am going to leave it for a few days as I have a busy week ahead but the suggestion to change the internal battery may be the answer. As it is, the actual main battery is pretty much kaput so I am going to get a new main battery and also open up the machine to change the internal button cell. If that doesn't work then I will just have to admit defeat and swap out the SSD for another from a different machine and do a fresh install. I am very grateful for the support that I am getting. It will be a few days before I can get the work done but I am determined to mark this thread 'solved'. Thanks again for the kind assistance.